Overcoming Obstacles

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published May 2026

 

 

A vertical rock cliff may look formidable, and it is, but it is not a permanent barrier. Mountaineers scale. Engineers alter. There are many ways to work around 90-degree walls of solid rock.

Likewise, there are many ways to work around any obstacle that impedes our movement. Whether the obstacle is a bridge that has washed out or a supplier who can no longer fill orders, a full stop is the absolute last resort.

Find another way. That’s the simplest summation of how to overcome an obstacle. Still, it’s a little too stark.

In some cases, instead of circumventing an obstacle, we can alter it so that it becomes a good fit. (Think of constructing a terraced footpath from a rock ledge.)

Enough metaphors for now, although they certainly creep into the mind of any of us when we think about obstacles in business and professional life. First, realize that no one moves along without meeting a barrier.

“Whatever the obstacle is that I am confronting, I have learned to first try to understand it better,” says Dennis Black, president, McHenry Pressure Cleaning Systems Inc. in Frederick, MD. “In other words, I don’t look at it solely as it is affecting me and my business.”

Looking at the proverbial big picture brings clarity. “I attempt to understand the where, what, and how of the matter by trying to understand as much as possible,” says Black. “This assists me with how to deal with it.”

Not rushing to a decision also helps. “I have found that allowing myself some time to digest the situation is important,” says Black

“Once I do these things, I usually find it easier to come up with a counteracting strategy,” explains Black. “This may involve not doing much at all or coming up with a strategy that we can accomplish. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, but we usually figure a way.”

Can Black provide an example of an obstacle that he could not overcome but that required the approach of a workaround? Yes.

“One example would be the influx of internet marketing and competing with internet pricing,” says Black. “I tried for years to figure out how to compete and deal with this.”

The effort was great. “Our company spent a lot of time and money attempting to compete with internet marketers,” explains Black.

“I finally realized we had to tailor our internet marketing to concentrate on what we do best and the markets that want our service and support,” says Black. “In other words, [we concentrate on] the markets that need our services and are willing to pay for them, which means we must ignore some of what goes on and the market it caters to so we can concentrate on the markets that make us successful and form those relationships.”

In Black’s example, an obstacle became something of a motivator. It allowed him to rethink his marketing strategy and refine it.

There’s no component of a business that cannot be rethought and refined when an obstacle presents itself. That can be a very good thing.

 

Sharper Approach

Whether marketing, engineering, service, shipping or another part of a business, the bigger the obstacle, the more likely it is to sharpen the approach to getting around it or working to ameliorate it.

Consider safety. Getting it right is all about seeing obstacles, anticipating potential obstacles, and finding ways to navigate them safely. Doing so requires the full participation of team members.

“Just like anything in life, we all need constant reminders,” says George Erskin, co-founder of Cyclone Eco Power Wash in Sacramento, CA. “Safety conversations, equipment checks, and job briefings help keep everyone aware and focused.”

Complacency about safe practices is an obstacle familiar to all members of our industry. Complacency is a big obstacle, and it demands skillful maneuvering and deft management to ensure that no team member succumbs to it.

“In my experience, the biggest way to keep people from getting complacent about safety is constant reinforcement,” says Erskin. “Safety can’t only come up after something goes wrong; it has to be part of the regular routine.”

And by regular routine, Erskin means that safety is prioritized. “We talk about it during onboarding, during per-shift meeting, and on jobsites when situations come up that crews can learn from.”

Moreover, safety is modeled. “As owners and supervisors, we also have to lead by example,” says Erskin. “If we expect technicians to wear proper PPE and follow chemical handling procedures, we need to do the same.

“We also rotate monthly safety topics and discuss real scenarios from the field so that lessons stay relevant,” continues Erskin. “When crews look out for each other and feel responsible for the safety of the whole team, not just themselves, that’s when you build a culture where complacency doesn’t take hold.”

Erskin says that safety must be built into the daily routine. It is about situational awareness.

“Safety has to start before the truck even leaves the yard, with equipment and chemical checks, and continue when the crew arrives on site, with proper walk-through and job assessment,” explains Erskin.

“We make it a habit to look at potential hazards right way,” says Erskin, “things like slip risks, chemical handling, electrical sources, or vehicle traffic around the work area.”

It’s a given that any owner of a business has enough challenges without unintentionally creating obstacles. Acute attention to safety ensures no obstacles are created.

“When those checks and conversations happen every day, safety becomes second nature instead of something you only think about once in a while,” Says Erskin.

It’s a highly interactive routine. “That kind of routine protects your crew, the client’s property, and your reputation as a contractor,” says Erskin.

 

Training and Resources

The scholarly business literature and the commercial business literature are filled with recommendations for how to carry on despite obstacles. One article from the Arab Journal of Administration that’s particularly good because it includes a tabulated review of the literature is “Overcoming Obstacles to Progress: Exploring the Causes and Effective Solutions to Employee Resistance and Organizational Change,” which was published in December 2024. (The article is open access via https://journals.ekb.eg/article_358324_8c50fc248458dc4215a0175f9c64b183.pdf.)

The “Overcoming…” article, which was published just about the time employee anxiety about AI started to overtake us, reveals that training and communication are linked tightly. Employees want to know why they are doing what they are asked to do, how processes and procedures result in better outcomes when followed, etc.

Both Black and Erskin, veterans of our industry, engage with employees as an integral part of day-to-day practice. So that when an obstacle emerges, it’s easily met by a team that can discuss and contribute to the development and implementation of a strategy.

Back to the metaphors: If a walking group—a team—encounters a boulder that obstructs their path, they will be better able to move the boulder or get around it if they all pause to discuss their next move.

There may be a walking group leader. But if the leader simply forges ahead with giving directions, such as step here and stand there, some members of the group may feel they are missing vital pieces of information.

Team members want to know the “why” that determines what they are doing. Thus, training—whether in sales or safety—should include how their successes contribute to good outcomes and a vigorous company.

In business and in life, even the best plans can go awry. A water pipe can burst or a sewer can break. Sometimes we might experience a burst and a break at the same time.

At times of tandem unexpected expenditures, even the best reserves of cash may fall temporarily short. Being prepared for such a compound or costly obstacle is easier if a business has already familiarized itself with the sources of capital (loans, grants, and emergency funds) that can be leveraged though the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA.gov).

Readers who have not recently checked on federal resources for small businesses should review the federal agencies that are offering capital to give a boost to the growth of small businesses.

The agencies are USDA, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Treasury, and Transportation. All are in addition to SBA. Some of the programs, such as the business and industry-guaranteed loan program and the rural energy for America guaranteed loan program (REAP) administered by USDA, are particularly good to know because of the guaranteed nature of the loans.

(See details by using this link):

https://www.sba.gov/priorities/small-business-resource-hubs/interagency-capital-resources-small-businesses.)

Reviewing the reach of the federal agencies ready with financial small businesses—and the state and local programs that stem from the agency funds—serves as a good foundation for quick response if the need arises. And an obstacle, such as a lender that will not increase a line of credit, may be converted to an opportunity.

Naturally, most obstacles are just that. But seeing the possibilities in finding a way to get across them makes a company stronger because necessity spurs innovation and invention.